Growing Up at Our Own Pace
by Blade of Hellfire
Summary: Kagura faces a difficult decision with Okita, when her father demands she starts her alien-hunter training with him. But when her boyfriend bares his fangs for her, she realizes that she decides the time when her adulthood begins.


**Hey guys! I know I haven't written OkiKagu in awhile, but I'm trying to get myself back into it. Been super busy! I wrote this story because something got me wondering: if Kagura was in a serious relationship with Okita, would she leave earth so easily? Some people may not like how I ended it, but I personally thought it was a good compromise. It's been awhile, so I hope it's not too shabby. Read, enjoy, review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama**

Kagura stared at the item in her hands, as if condemning its existence. She knew this day was coming, and she wished desperately she was talking about the natural result of her boyfriend's negligence of condoms. Teenage pregnancy would be easy compared to the conversation she would have to have with him, knowing the Sadist he'd be happy!

"Oi Kagura, what'd the Baldy say in his letter? You look pale." Gintoki asked on the couch across from her. Of course! She was still in the Odd-Jobs HQ so she still had time to change her identity and move to Canada! No one would find her there! She remembered the good old days five minutes ago, before she got this freakin' letter.

The times when she had no worries other than walking Sadaharu and kicking her boyfriend's ass. This all changed because of one letter, the letter that would most likely devastate her life.

"Kagura-chan?" Shinpachi was also there, doing minor cleaning around the place because no one else wanted to. "What does it say? Is everything all right?"

"…I…" She couldn't say. She knew this day was coming, but she imagined it would be much easier than this. "…Papi's coming here soon. He wants me to begin my alien-hunter training."

**XXXXXXX**

Two hours had passed since she opened the letter, and one hour passed since her adoptive family went over the parchment with her. They were stunned to say the least, they hadn't heard from the guy in six months, missing Kagura's fifteenth birthday during that time, and now he sends a letter out of the blue, demanding she start her career path. Typical Baldy-father, Kagura snorted to herself bitterly. Umibozu had never been considerate of her or Kamui's lives, and it seemed that this would be no different.

"China!" Kagura stopped midstep and turned to see her sadist boyfriend behind her. He wore a peeved expression, but appeared worried all the same. "What the hell China…if you're going to wander around like a zombie, at least text me that you'll be late."

Kagura blinked in confusion, but then she remembered. She had left the Odd-Jobs HQ to find Okita to tell him as well, because they typically met up when he slacked off in the morning, but ended up wandering aimlessly in Kabukicho instead. "Oh…yeah…something came up. It's may bad this time Sadist, I admit it."

Okita rose a brow, he had NEVER known has girlfriend to admit wrongdoing, let alone to be apologetic about it. "China…what's wrong? You're seriously starting to scare me with this OOC nonsense."

Instead of answering, she walked up to him and grabbed his hand. Without looking up at him, she said: "Let's go to our spot Sadist. Something's happened, and we need to talk."

Okita narrowed his eyes but immediately complied; as any couple would know, the need to talk phrase is never a sign of good fortune.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

After they got to the spot, Kagura sat down while not turning her view away from the lake. Okita joined her in this but could barely take the tension anymore, they hand't uttered a word the entire way here. "China I know you delude yourself into thinking you're as big of a sadist as I am, but seriously…the tension is a huge turn-off."

"I'm not trying to build tension, Sadist." Kagura groaned, but turned to face him when she felt his hand go over hers.

Okita looked her square in the eyes and demanded: "Then say what's wrong already. You've been freaking me out all morning, and the explanation better be good China."

"…I got a letter today...from Baldy." Kagura forced herself to start, and inwardly sighed as her boyfriend's mood predictably worsened.

"What the hell does that good-for-nothing bastard want?" Okita growled. As far as Okita was concerned, his girlfriend's useless father and brother had lost all right to be a part of her life, and didn't even deserve acknowledgement from Kagura. While he had only fought Kaumi once or twice, he was reassured in the knowledge that he had no interest in his sister. Her idiot father on the other hand, was a different story.

As for Kagura herself, she was passive about her family's situation. She had always known both of them to be aimless wanderers, so it was no surprise that Baldy would randomly feel to urge to be apart of her life again. She couldn't say that she hated either Kamui or Umibozu, but she did agree with Sougo on one aspect: it was her life, and they will never have a say in it. Everything Kagura did, it was because she wanted to, and if that meant tolerating the Baldy's annoying pestering once in awhile, fine. It didn't make Oktia any less resentful towards him though, but he respected his girlfriend to handle the situation, before he decided to implement his own remedies.

"Sadist…I told you that I dream of becoming stronger and an accomplished alien hunter right?" Kagura asked quietly.

"Yes, two weeks into our relationship. Why?" Okita looked at her expectantly.

"Well…Baldy has also been aware of my ambition for quite some time, and…believes that I'd be better off learning the basics from him." There she said it, now for the onslaught. But surprisingly, she got a quiet response from her boyfriend, and when she uncovered her eyes and ears she honestly became more nervous. Okita was just sitting there, he was no longer facing her but the grip on his hand became increasingly tighter.

Kagura braced herself, because if there was one thing she learned about being in a relationship Okita Sougo, you need to worry most when he doesn't share his sadistic thoughts. "Sadist…?"

"Huh? That's a great joke China. That good for nothing, pathetic excuse of a man believes he has right to interfere in your life because he is lucky enough to be related to you. I mean he's barely in your life at all growing up, and only shows up to earth occasionally to try and take you away from me." Okita's expression and tone was growing darker with each word, any other living creature would be afraid for their lives at that moment.

But Kagura wasn't just anyone. She was Okita's lover, equal, rival, and best friend…if anyone knew how to quell his wrath, it would be her. "Sadist...I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet."

Okita calmed down enough to talk again. "Then don't go."

"Let me finish Sadist." Kagura sighed and shifted herself so she was seated in Okita's lap. Whenever she was about to break terrible news, or something devastating happened like Mitsuba's death, she always crawled into his lap. She would allow him to wrap his arms around her as tightly as he wanted, while she would stroke and play with his hair.

This act was strange to Kagura at first, barely used to showing affection to anything other than Sadaharu, but she found that it was highly effective against Okita. The first time they did this was on the anniversary of his sister's death; they had only been in a relationship for two months at that point, so it was awkward initially. She had only taken a seat beside him at the grave site, she was almost certain he was asleep because he had his face buried in his arms. So imagine her surprise when he arms came out and pulled her close to him; Kagura had fought it at first, but when she heard his wrecked sobbing, she knew that she was needed.

Ever since she's deployed this tactic in these emergency situations, it actually made her feel warm and fuzzy; her boyfriend relished her presence that much. Unfortunately, she knew that would make this discussion all the more difficult.

"Sadist…" She stroked his cheek, as she settled into a cradled position in his hold. "I told you before that I would need to go back to my planet to train, to get stronger, to-"

"You don't need to leave now. What's the hurry? I actually like that your younger than me you know? Gives me natural authority over you." Okita chuckled shakily.

"Dream on Sadist." Kagura rolled her eyes, but continued. "I need to go back eventually, but you are right when you say there's no hurry." She nuzzled his chest slightly. "I know for a fact that my time to leave earth hasn't come yet. I still have a lot of thing I want to do, things to explore…things to beat you at."

"In your dreams, China." Okita felt relief swell up as she continued.

"But I'll also say that our brushes with the Harusame have become more frequent, and Baka-nii will most likely face use again. You almost died the last time you fought him and I was useless…I'm not enough of a sadist or masochist to put either of us through that again." Kagura traced an area of Okita's chest where her brother's umbrella had gone through.

"We kicked enemy ass that day." He argued.

"Only because Kamui was toying with us. regardless of me being an alien hunter, I have to get stronger. We both do don't we?" She smiled up at him sadly, stroking his cheek.

"I don't want to be separated from you now or any point in the future, China. When we got together, we did the love confession thing, but we also pledged ourselves to each other. Your my slave and I'm your master China, and I refuse to let you get out of it." Okita growled, gently grasping her hand on his face.

Kagura leaned up and kissed him. "I do love you, and I'm not your slave..." She pinched his cheek for good measure. "But..." Her fingers relaxed and started their calming motions again. "One of us is going to be taken away if we don't eventually do this."

Okita's entire grip of her body got stronger, more intimate, and highly possessive; Kagura recognized the behavior well. She leaned further into him, and said: "Trust me to come back to you, Sadist. I have to trust you every time when you have a dangerous mission."

"And now I know how it feels. Man…I really am a sadist." He murmured. "I don't trust Baldly though." She looked up at him in question. "What if he fails to show up in a fight when he's expected to, like every single one of your birthdays?"

Kagura smiled. "Then that's something we'll have to discuss with him. After all, I've made my decision and I need to turn down Baldy properly."

"It's not a love letter, idiot." Okita twitched, but rested his chin on her anyways.

"I know." She giggled. "But with how obsessive his letters are, they might as well be rejected love interests."

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Not a week passed until Umibozu showed up on the odd-jobs HQ, demanding to see his daughter. "I know she's in there, you useless permhead! Hand her over!"

Gintoki and Shinpachi were both sweating bullets, but not because they lost Kagura, in fact they knew exactly where she was- that was the problem! All three men were sitting on the couches of the Odd-Jobs place, with the atmosphere highly tense.

"I don't know what is keeping Kagura at the gorilla lady's house, Baldy. Maybe you should go over there, ask for some eggs." Gintoki asked, hoping the man would be put down by that demon sister of Megane.

"Yes…anueue sometimes talks a lot." Shinpachi explained nervously. They had shamelessly lied to the Baldy to preserve their lives, they had no idea what Kagura told him about Okita in terms of how far their relationship progressed, and they weren't keen on finding out. Other than having heated disputes, Okita and Umibozu have barely spoken to each other.

"Well they should hurry up! Time is of the essence!" Umibozu stated.

"Oi Baldy…why in such a hurry to see Kagura again?" Gintoki sighed, he honestly didn't want the Baldy to see Kagura either, not this time. Not when the man was so brazenly taking her away.

"Fool! Every second wasted is a moment lost of training! Where is Kagura?!" Umibozu demanded.

"Tell me Umibozu-san…what exactly did Kagura say to you in her last letter?" Shinpachi asked warily, also not keen on giving Kagura up.

"She said worse that would only make me believe that she has been brainwashed by that boyfriend of hers! She said that she did not want to leave earth and to come back when I had real hair to show!" He huffed.

Both men blinked, suddenly not feeling bad about Kagura's whereabouts. They were actually hoping Oktia would keep her awhile longer now. "Oi Baldly…you just said Kagura didn't want to go right?"

"Yes! An obvious lie! She is merely being brainwashed as I said!" He proclaimed.

"Umibozu-san…regardless if you're her father or not…if Kagura-chan doesn't want to leave, she doesn't have to." Shinpachi stated carefully.

"That's right baldly. She's growing up, text and facebooking, and all that other crap. She's at the age where she doesn't need her magical disappearing papa so much." Gintoki added, threat laced his voice.

Umibozu wasn't phased. "A daughter should be with her father!"

"The father in this case, made his little girl grow up to be a woman by herself, now didn't he?" Gintoki snorted. He knew that his adopted daughter would have to leave eventually as well, but if she sure as hell wasn't going if she wasn't ready.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, Kagura and Oktia were sleeping peacefully in his room at the Shinsengumi compound; she had been staying over with him since the letter revelation. And while she was staying for a while longer, Okita was still too uneasy to let go of her. Though to be fair, they commonly had sleepovers anyways. Both were nude and clinging to each other, they had an exhilarating but exhausting night after all.

Suddenly, both snapped their eyes open at an upcoming presence; Okita quickly dressed in his hakama while Kagura had to struggle to get her underwear on. However, it wasn't quick enough as the door to Sougo's room was blasted off, revealing a pissed Umibozu.

His voice boomed: "KAGURA! THIS IS YOUR FATHER! WE NEED TO TAL-" A wooden practice sword was suddenly thrown into his forehead, sending him back quite a bit. Umibozu regained coherency and stared in surprise at his daughter's flaxen boyfriend.

Okita glared at the inconsiderate waste of space, known as his future father-in-law and growled. "Tell me Baldy, what kind of father barges into a room where he knows his daughter may not be decent, but rips the door off for the entire world to see?" Sougo growled and turned to several Shinsengumi who had run over thanks to commotion, Hijikata and Kondo were among them. "Oh Hijikata-san…Kondo-san…make sure those idiot subordinates of ours don't come in any closer. This is a private matter."

Hijikata observed the situation carefully, recognizing the balding alien hunter with a grown. He recalled the China girl spent the night again and judging by Sougo's messy attire and how his door was blown off, Hijikata could guess what Sougo did not want the others to see. "Hai, hai. Let's go. Oi! Everyone! We've got patrol assignments. Sougo! I'm leaving this to you to clean up! Come on Kondo-san."

"I see." Kondo nodded but looked unsure. "Sougo…will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine Kondo-san…it's whoever stops me that will have a problem." Okita nodded. He saw his commander sigh but eventually follow Hijikata and the lower Shinsengumi members. He turned to Umibozu, who bore a stunned expression. "As for you…name one reason why I shouldn't tie you down and let you rot in the sun like a vampire?"

Umibozu quickly gained composure. "Boy! As you remember, I am Kagura's father and have come to reclaim custody of her! It is long-time she start training to become an alien-hunter, and to do that she needs to become much stronger."

"China's a lot stronger than you; you can't even sunbathe." Okita snorted. "As for her alien-hunter training, she already told you in her letter that she wanted to stay on earth a few more years. She didn't actually say no to it, as much as I think she should."

"Aha! So it was you! You did brainwash her into staying!" Umibozu pointed an accusatory finger.

Okita put on a sadistic smirk. "Trust me Baldly, if I had successfully brainwashed her, you and that useless brother of hers would be disowned. As far as I can tell, being in contact with you seems to bring her nothing but grief."

Umibozu frowned. "That's…"

"I don't care about any excuse you muster, they aren't going to matter." Okita turned his back to the man. "Ultimately, it's not my decision…China told me her answer before she even sent you her reply. Even though I get to keep her for a year or two more, I hate the fact that she has to leave at all. If I could stop her, I would."

Umibozu kept his gaze, and pulled the wooden blade out of his forehead. He blinked, seeing half of the weapon caked with blood, his blood. This human had actually managed to dent his skull, maybe even give him a concussion! All because he almost, accidentally peeped on his daughter! That's right! This man even protected his daughter's modesty from the rest of the compound as well! This much anger and strength...all came from the boy who supposedly loved his daughter! Maybe, just maybe…Umibozu could believe that.

"Kagura will need to get stronger, and when she does…Kamui will most likely come for her. He's always detested Kagura, ever since her mother died. I believe he blames her for Kayuma's death, yah know?" Umibozu sighed, explaining.

"I know. I've fought him twice already; he's nothing like China, that's for sure." Okita sighed, if Zenzou hadn't shown up in that fight, he would have been screwed.

"And you lived?! Boy, you lie!" Umibozu was stunned.

"No Baldy! It's true…" Kagura finally stepped out of Okita's room, fully dressed in her normal red cheongsam dress. "I treated his wounds both times." She went to stand beside Okita. "My boyfriend's a Sadist. But he's no liar. He tortures people with the truth too much." Okita seemed to smirk in pride at that comment.

"We both need to get stronger, Baldy. But I'm only leaving when I absolutely have to." Kagura firmly stated. "And I'm only gone for two years, then I'm coming back. No arguments. I can have my own alien hunter business here; it's common enough anyways."

"I see…" Umibozu watched his daughter stand alongside her 'boyfriend', as much as he hated to admit she had one, he was good to her. They both stood by each other proudly, standing by this decision. They had made it together, and made sure both understood the other completely before reaching this conclusion.

And as much as it pained Umibozu to admit it, the sadistic boy was right- he did miss his chance with Kagura. Okita had repeatedly told him to get out of her life, and had been downright hostile after he had learned of what happened to his girlfriend in the past. And he couldn't argue, he did abandon Kagura and Kamui and he lost both his children as result. Now he was no longer needed, Okita filled the void that he and Kamui left behind in Kagura, and provided her so much more. And every time he visited, it was an attempt to take her away or interfere in some aspect of her life, which soured things between him and Okita even further. So yes, he missed his chance to be a father to Kagura, but he also realized that he had a different chance now- to be her mentor.

"I see…so this is your decision Kagura." Umibozu sighed. And to be a mentor, he would have to accept his student's baggage. "Okay then…we'll begin training away from earth in exactly sixteen months from now- which is a good compromise if you think about it. And…I expect…" His eyes were on Okita. "…you to join us."

The kids blinked, as if trying to figure if they heard right.

"Don't act so surprised. You're going to be my son-in-law, right? I expect you to beat me by then!" Umibozu didn't break his gaze with Okita.

While Kagura was blushing somewhat, muttering incoherent curses, Okita couldn't help but smirk at the challenge. "Glad we now understand each other, Baldy."

**Review Please! My brain's been dry of OkiKagu lately, so I'm willing to consider story ideas or prompts if anyone has any requests. Review or PM me if you questions, comments, or concerns.**


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